Today I’m posting the results of the poll I started two weeks. I would like to thank everyone for their participation, and I hope the results are of interest to my readers. I found the results fascinating – especially to the second poll.

What are you willing to pay for 100 tea bags/50 grams of everyday tea?

I was a little surprised by the results of the first poll. Many tea companies have priced their loose ‘everyday’ teas, such as English Breakfast or a general afternoon or breakfast tea, between £2 to £8 for 50 grams. Moreover, the cost of the tea put into many silk or pyramid bags is around 10 to 15p per gram. This varies depending on how much tea a company puts in each bag. So, the 5 to 10p and the 15 to 20p categories coming out on top wasn’t a surprise.

Seeing that 24% of voters would pay 25 to 30p per gram, and 8% would pay 30p or more, was a big surprise. Does this indicate that tea companies are undervaluing their product? Or does it indicate that people want higher quality tea on a daily basis?

What factor(s) do you consider when buying tea?

Other answers:

That it be good
Also, trying something new; year of production; size of leaf; reviews (if online 1
Condition and quality
Brand
Pesticide-free conditions
traceability and taste

This poll really surprised me. I expected ‘taste’ to be first, but I really thought ‘cost’ and ‘organic’ would poll higher. I also found it very interesting that ‘traceability of tea’ polled higher than ‘Fairtrade’. Does that indicate a distrust in the Fairtrade label? Is the label used so ubiquitously on products that it doesn’t seem unique? Ultimately, taste is king, but the other results give us some things to think about.

I’d love to hear any thoughts you have about the poll results, and thanks again for participating!

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About teaxplorer

I grew up in the Midwest of the US and was introduced to tea at a very young age - unsweetened iced tea, that is! It was not until my early 20s, when I was seeking a lighter alternative to coffee, that I took tea drinking to a new level. I still remember my mother suggesting that I try putting milk in a cup of black tea (something that actually sounded a bit repulsive at the time, but I gave it a go). I quickly became tired of supermarket tea and started ordering teas from shops and companies all over the US. Throughout my 20s and now into my early 30s, pursuits in higher education studies, work opportunities and marriage have given me opportunities to live in the UK, Canada and Germany and travel around the world, which has sparked an even greater interest in tea and the culture of tea. This blog is my outlet to discuss my love of tea and show off some of my photos.
All images and opinions on this blog are my own, unless stated otherwise. I retain copyright on all photographs, but please do not hesitate to contact me at teaxplorer@gmail.com if you wish to reproduce any of my images. Likewise, if you would like me to review and photograph any teas for you, please get in touch. I would be happy to hear from you.
Thank you for stopping by my blog, and I hope you return many times!
Happy drinking!
Drew B (@teaxplorer)

4 Responses to POLL RESULTS: What’s important to you when buying tea?

Your poll was really interesting. Thanks for conducting it and for sharing the results. I think they reflect a shift that has slowly but surely been changing the tea industry. Customers demand higher quality than ever before. They want to know where their tea came from and when it was produced, not just a general description but meaningful details. Darjeeling is a hard sell when it’s just Darjeeling, whereas a 2nd Flush SFTGFOP from Giddapahar is more desirable. Especially here in the US, retailers were able to get away with selling poor quality leaf as “specialty tea” for many years. I think that time is coming to a close and I’m looking forward to where we’ll be headed in the future.

Thanks for the comment, Nicole. I agree with you very much: people are becoming more concerned about quality and traceability, topics that coffee customers started thinking about 25 years ago. I think tea is turning a corner, and selling poor tea as ‘speciality tea’ won’t fly much longer. Yay for that!

Thank you Drew for conducting this pole. I think the pole gives a good reflection of tea lovers thoughts, having listened to customers in tea shops for over 8 years, and wholesale tea customers for a further 10.

The tea industry needs to listern to their customers and provide them with what they really want. Not what someone in an office thinks the customer wants!!
Than you.